Rio Tinto increases iron ore exports in Q2

Anglo-Australian mining company Rio Tinto said that its supplies of iron ore from Australia in the II quarter increased by 14%. This is reported by Reuters.

Rio Tinto

The company expects its annual iron ore supply will be at the upper boundary of the target range of 330-340 million tons, due to increased productivity and fewer weather-related failures compared to the same quarter last year.

The volume of supplies of iron ore Rio from Australia in April-June amounted to 88.5 million tons, compared with 77.7 million tons a year earlier, the company said. UBS expected that the supply of iron ore will grow by 14% per quarter. Iron ore prices were stable during the quarter.

Rio Tinto said that its copper production jumped by 26%. In the first half of last year, production volumes were adversely affected by strikes of trade unions at the copper mine of Escondida.

Negotiations are underway to conclude a new contract in Escondida, as the current contract expires on August 1.

The company recently confirmed the sale of its 40% stake in Grasberg, the second largest copper mine in the world, for $ 3.5 billion to the Indonesian state mining company PT Inalum.

Rio also noted significant constraints on its aluminum business, given the impact on it of a sharp rise in prices for alumina, which is expected to continue in the second half of the year.

Previously, Rio Tinto launched the world's first unmanned heavy-lift long-distance train. The train, consisting of three locomotives, transported about 28,000 tons of iron ore for the distance of 280 km.

The first delivery of ore to the port terminal with the help of the unmanned train was realized within the framework of the company's program called AutoHaul, which was approved by regulators in May.

According to the managing director of Rio Tinto Iron Ore for port and railway services, this program will create the world's first fully autonomous, intercity railway network, through which the world's largest robots are moving.

In addition, Rio Tinto plans to seriously expand its fleet of unmanned quarry trucks, which are used in the same ironworks of Pilbara. The operation of quarry trucks with autopilot will increase the cash flow of the company up to 2021 by $ 5 billion.